NCAAF Picks

Free College Football Picks For Oregon - Washington State In Pac 12 Showdown

Oregon flies into Martin Stadium where they will meet their Pac-12 North rivals, the Washington State Cougars. Let’s review the college football odds on this one and cash a winner in a game that will see a lot of offensive firepower.

Oregon (2-2 SU, 0-3-1 ATS) vs. Washington State (1-2 SU, 2-1 ATS) Both teams reside in the cellar of the Pac-12 North as they head into this conference clash. The Ducks fell to Colorado in a shootout last week as they came up short, 41-38 despite being installed as 14-point home favorites by the college football odds makers. On the flipside, the Cougars easily covered the 28-point impost in a 56-5 thumping of lightly regarded Idaho in their contest last week.

Offense has not been the issue with Oregon as the Ducks are averaging 41.8 points per game which ranks them 25th in the nation coupled with a devastating rushing attack that has chewed up an average of 275 yards per game which places them 8th among all Division 1-A schools. Oregon quarterback Dakota Prukop has led an aerial attack that is averaging 260 yards (45th) and the freshman signal caller now has eight passing TD’s with only one interception.

Similarly, the Cougars are getting it done when they have the ball as evidenced by their 40 point per game average (31st) which is largely due to the outstanding efforts of junior QB Luke Falk. Falk has 11 passing touchdowns on the season against only two picks. Washington State is averaging a whopping 393 yards through the air which ranks them 3rd in the country but their rushing attack has taken a backseat with 121 yards per game (112th).

As brilliant as both offenses have been, it is the defenses on both squads that have been suspect with Oregon surrendering over 32 points per game (97th) and Washington State only a click better at 27.3 (71st). At first blush one might side with the home team Cougars as their defense is a bit tighter and their quarterback Luke Falk has been nothing short of phenomenal. However, the presence this week of Oregon’s punishing running back Royce Freeman tips the scales in the Ducks’ favor. Had Freeman been on the field for last week’s nail biting 41-38 loss to the Buffalos the outcome likely would have been markedly different. Reports are that Freeman will be back after the knee injury that kept him sidelined against Colorado.

The Oregon Ducks have a more balanced attack and their ability to march down the field via the ground game will chew the clock and keep Falk & Company off the field. Oregon is also 8-1 ATS on the road over the past three seasons, thus they are the play here in our college football picks for Saturday.